Thursday, August 13, 2009

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

The Go-Go's had it right – time to get away. Go, go now! The word vacation comes from the Latin word “vacare” – to be void, free from, idle, unoccupied – empty. To vacate means to leave, as in “I’m outta here”. A vacancy is an opening; a space to be filled. Prior to August, there is a “no vacancy” sign flashing in my mind.

August is prime time to empty. Empty heads, hearts, souls, shoes, closets, shelves, boxes, homes, gardens, fields, cities and finally gas tanks. The air is hot and heavy and the days begin to fade earlier and earlier as each one passes. Then it happens, one night there is just a hint of coolness in the air, and that is the warning shot across the bow. If we don’t set aside the time to empty ourselves soon, we’ll be screwed by September. Full up at the beginning of the year. And yes, September is the true beginning of the year – not January.

January may be cause for celebrations and resolutions, but September doesn’t party. September is a get off your butt, get it in gear, let’s get down and dirty back to business kind of month. Mothers love September – at least the first couple of weeks. After that, September turns to us and says, “Okay girls – ready to rock?” and we have to be ready; ready to be stuffed full. Yes, by the end of September, mothers are full of it.

So, we need time to make room, lots and lots of room; the room to breathe deep, long, breathy breaths. The kind where you inhale, and then inhale a bit more to the point of slight disomfort, and then exhale with a long sigh of contentment, not exasperation. The exhale is the important part – you can’t breathe in if you don’t breathe out.

Which is why August is so important – it’s our exhale. August – the word itself means to inspire awe, or admiration. Exhale, sigh, and let the world take your breath away. It will return, I promise. August is underway and I’m vacating from the inside out. September is hot on my heels, and in a couple of weeks, the filling begins.